Domestic refrigerator



Sept. 28, 1937. c. KUHNEL 2,094,542

DOMESTIC REFRIGERATOR Filed Jan. 51, 1935 k. 6 2a 77 F" 33 i1 4...

(C r l A Patented Sept. 2c, 1931 UNITED STATES 2,094,542 DOMESTIC REFRIGERATOR Carl Kiihnel, assignor to Berlin Char-lottenburg, Germany, Siemens-Schuckertwerke Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin-Siemensstadt, Germany, a corporation of Germany ApplicationJanuary '31, 1935', Serial No. 4,385

In Germany February'6, 1934 8 Claims.

' My invention relates to domestic'refrigerators and more particularly to a refrigerating receptacle combined with a refrigerating apparatus.

Domestic refrigerators and refrigerating receptacles have hitherto been constructed in such a manner that an ice box or a cylindrical-container which encloses the cooling chamber is combined with the refrigerating apparatus. In the case of ice boxes the refrigerating apparatus is, as a rule, arranged on the upper part of'the ice box and the evaporator extends into the cooling chamber thereof. For the insertion and removal of the goods an opening with a door is provided. In the case of refrigerating receptacles the refrigerat- 16 ing set is secured to the side of or below the container enclosing the cooling chamber, and the evaporator in such units also projects into the container. A cover arranged on the top of the container serves in this case as a closure.

The object of the invention is to provide an economical domestic refrigerator easy to manufacture in which the parts serving to produce refrigeration are not, as a rule, combined-with the ice box orreceptacle enclosing the cooling chamber.

According to the present invention the parts serving to produce refrigeration are combined with the closure, 1. e.,.with the cover or with the.

door for the cooling chamber. In this manner every refrigerator may be made of two parts, viz. of the container (cabinet or receptacle) provided with an opening for the insertion and removal of the goods and enclosing the cooling chamber.

and of the corresponding closure (door or cover) combined with the cold producing part of the refrigerating apparatus.

a The cover for the cooling chamber may be arranged according to the invention in such a manner that it may be rotated in the horizontal direction. The cover is provided at the side facing the cooling chamber with a hollow space for the reception of the cold producing part of the apparatus. This hollow spaceis, when the cover is placed on the container, in open communication with the cooling chamber proper so that the refrigeration may be transferred in the usual manner by the circulation of the air in the cooling chamber. The production of ice cubes as'is always required in the case of domestic refrigerators may be effected according to the invention ina very advantageous manner by providing the cover with an opening through which the container for ice cubes may be removed.- In this case a plug consisting of insulating material may be.

5 employed for closlng the opening. It is preferable, in order to accelerate the production of ice, to arrange a device in the cover for the cooling chamber for instance a slide plate which closesmore or less the hollow space-in which the cold producing part of the system is arrangedagainst the cooling chamber.

Sincethe object of the invention is to provide an economical domestic refrigerator easy to manufacture it relates particularly to refrigerating receptacles in which the cooling chamber. has a cylindrical form. although it is not limited to this particular form.

According to the invention direct air-cooled refrigerating apparatus are preferably employed. Such refrigerating apparatus are either associated as a whole with,the cover for the cooling chamber or a part of the refrigeratingapparatus may be arranged outside of the cooling chamber cover. If the coolingchamber cover contains heat-radiating parts of the refrigerating apparatus it may be provided with a hood having inlet and outlet ports for the cooling air.

In ,the accompanying drawing an embodiment of my invention is diagrammatically illustrated in which a refrigerating receptacle is equipped with an air-cooled absorption refrigerating apparatus of the intermittent type.

Fig. 1 shows a vertical sectional view and- Fig. 2 is a top view partly in section of a refrigerating receptacle embodying my invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, I denotes the outer jacket and 2 the inner jacket of the refrigerating receptacle. At the bottom of the receptacle an insulating plate 8 is provided between the two jackets; the circular space between the two jackets is filled up with cork shavings 3.

,The circular space for the reception of the insulating material 3 is closed against the outside at the upper part thereof by means of an insulating material, for instance, a wooden ring 4. In order to reinforce the receptacle the outer cylinder I is provided at the upper part thereof with a metallic ring 5 having an extension 6 in the form of an eye.

The coolingchamber cover has a wooden plate *I which is provided with a recess as disclosed in Fig. 1 A collecting vessel Ill for the reception of the liquid refrigerant driven off from the generator-absorber is arranged between the wooden plate land acover 9 preferably made 50 of sheet iron. The evaporator arranged in the lower part of an accumulator i2 is connected to the collecting vessel Ill. The accumulator I2 is filled up with a liquid which freezes upon ,the evaporation of the refrigerant. The

cold producing part of the system is provided with an opening for the insertion of a container l3 for ice cubes. The entire cold producing part is arranged in a hollow space in the cover enclosed. by a wall l5, which space may be more or less closed against the cooling chamber by means of a slide plate I4. The purpose of the slide plate is to restrict more or less the opening for the transfer of cold to the cooling chamber so as to accelerate the production of ice. The space enclosed by the plate 7, the cover 9 and the wall I! is filled up with insulating material. This space has an opening for the removal of the container l3. This opening may be closed by means of a plug l6 made of insulating material. denotes the air-cooled condenser of the refrigerating apparatus.

The generator-absorber I9 rests on a support 20 which is secured to the cover in the manner as disclosed in Fig.1. vided with a hole 2| for the reception of a revolviug shaft 22. The arrangement of the generator-absorber l9 as shown in Fig. 1 has the advantage that the weight of the entire cover of the cooling chamber is partly balanced by the weight of the generator-absorber so as to per- I mit a relatively easy opening of the refrigerating receptacle. The opening is effected by means of a handle 23 by rotating the cover in the hori zontal direction. The cover is held firmly in the closed position by a locking device '29. Packing rings 30, 3| of insulating material are provided between the cover and the refrigerating receptacle and pressed so firmly together, owing to the weight of the cover, as to form an air-tight seal.

The heatingenergy is supplied to the generator I! from the supply circuit 24, 25 through a time control switch 26, which supply circuit energizes in the usual manner the heating element 21 of the generator-absorber for a predetermined period and deenergizes the same for another pre- The support 2015 prodetermined period. The generator-absorber isair-cooled and is provided with cooling ribs 28 to enhance the cooling effect.

The evaporator l I of the absorption refrigerat-- ing apparatus is placed in the lower part of the accumulator I 2 and is provided with ribs 31 to facilitate the transfer of heat. A

a slight inclination so that the water condensing on its surface may flow into a trough 32 secured to the innerwall of the refrigerating receptacle.

A perforated plate 35 placed on supports 36 is arranged in the refrigerating receptacle to provide two compartments for the reception of the goods.

A solid absorbent which forms a chemical compound with the refrigerant is preferably employed in the intermittently operating absorption apparatus, calcium-chloride serving, for instance, as absorbent and ammonia as refrigerant. During the heating period the ammonia is driven off from the generator-absorber l9 through the conduit 33. The vapors are condensed in the aircooled condenser I8 and the liquefied refrigerant passes then into the collecting vessel Ill through a conduit 34 and gradually fills up the evaporator H as well as the collecting vessel It). After deenergizationof the heating element 21 the absorbent is cooled down in the generatorabsorber and is again capable of absorbing the r 2,094,542 4 riod the evaporator f l remains filled with liquevery small dimensions so that the coldproducing.

part thereof may be easily mounted within the movable cover for the cooling chamber.

' The device for opening and closing the cover may, if desired, be so designed that at first a slight raising of the cover in the vertical direction is effected and then a rotation of the same in the horizontal direction. The generator-absorber may also be so arranged that its axis coincides with that of the cover. In the embodiment shown the slide plate is hand operated. The arrangement may also be designed in such a manner that the slide plate besides being hand operated is automatically closed upon opening the refrigerating receptacle. In this manner the loss of refrigeration during the timethe receptacle is open is reduced to a minimum. A very. simple form of the invention may be obtainedif the part of the refrigerating apparatus arranged outside of the cover. is firmly secured to the cooling receptacle or the ice box. .In this case the conduit leading to the refrigeration producingpart associated with the cooling chamber cover is designed as a flexible tubular conduit.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and, 2 the thata wine bottle may be placed in a vertical or v horizontal position.

The invention is not limited to absorption refrigerating apparatus of the intermittent type, it may also be used-in a corresponding manner for refrigerating systems operated with continuous pression refrigerating apparatus.

I claim as my invention: 1. A refrigerating receptacle comprising insulating walls enclosing a cooling chamber and absorption refrigerating apparatus or with com- The accumulator I2 is preferably designed with having an opening for the insertion and .removal of the products to .be cooled, one of said walls constituting a movable closure for said opening. and a refrigerating apparatus having a cold sup plying part in direct heat exchange relation with the air in the cooling chamber and a hollow space in said closure in open communication with said cooling chamber, said cold supplying. part being arranged in said hollow space.

2. A refrigerating receptacle comprising insulating walls enclosing a cooling chamber and having an upper opening for the-insertion and removal of p'roductsto be cooled, one of said walls being a closure for said opening and being slidable in'parallel relation to the opening. and s. refrigerating apparatus having a cold sup lying part in direct heat exchange relation withthe air in the cooling chamber; one of said walls having a hollow space in open communication with the cooling chamber, said cold supplying part being arranged in said hollow space.

3. A refrigerating receptaclecomprising insulating walls enclosing a cooling chamberand horizontal plane.

having an upper opening for the insertion and removal of products to be cooled, a cover consisting of insulating material. for said opening and slidably arranged in a horizontal plane, and, a refrigerating apparatus having a cold supplying part in direct heat exchange relation with the air in said cooling chamber, said cover having a hollow space in open communication with ing of insulating material for said opening and slidably arranged in a horizontal plane, a refrigerating apparatus having a cold supplying part in direct heat/exchange relation with the air in said cooling chamber, said cover having a hollow space in open communication with the cooling chamber, said cold supplying part being arranged in said hollow space, a tray for ice cubes in said cold supplying part, said cover having an opening for inserting and removing said tray without opening the cover, and a closure of insulating material for saidopening in said cover.

5. A refrigerating receptacle comprising insulating walls enclosing a cooling chamber and having an upper opening for the insertion and removal of products to be cooled, a cover consisting of insulating material for said opening. and slidably arranged in a horizontal plane, a refrigerating-apparatus having a cold supplying part in direct heatexchange relation with the air in said cooling chamber, said cover having a hollow space in open communication with the cooling chamber, said cold supplying part being arranged in said hollow space, a pivot associated with said refrigerating receptacle and said cover so as to rotate the cover about said pivot in a sulating walls enclosing a cooling chamber and having an opening for the insertion and removal of products to be cooled, a removable closure consisting of insulating material for said opening and an air-cooled refrigerating apparatus having a cold supplying part in direct heat exchange relation with the air in said cooling chamber, said closure having a hollow space arranged in open communication with the cooling chamher, said cold supplying part being arranged in said hollow space, said refrigerating apparatus being firmly connected to said closure.

7. A refrigerating receptacle comprising insulating walls enclosing a cooling chamber and having an opening for the insertion and removal of products to be cooled, a movable closure consisting of insulating material for said opening.

and an air-cooled intermittent absorption refrigerating apparatus, comprising a generatorabsorber, a condenser, a collecting vessel for the liquefied refrigerant, an evaporator and means for conveying said refrigerant from the generator-absorber to the evaporator and vice versa, said air-cooled condenser being secured on said closure, said collecting vessel being arranged in the insulation of. the closure, and the closure having a hollow space in open communication with the cooling chamber, said cold supplying part being arranged in said hollow space.

8. A refrigerating receptacle comprising insulating walls enclosing a cooling chamber and having an opening for the insertion and removal of products to be cooled, one of said walls being a movable closure for said opening, and a rei'rigerating apparatus having a cold supplying part in direct heat exchange relation with the air in the cooling chamber, one of said insulating walls having therein a hollow space in open communication withthe cooling chamber,'said cold supplying part being arranged in said hollow space, and a closure serving to close at will said hollow space containing the cold supplying part against the cooling chamber. a

' CARL KUHNEL. 

